Page 71 of Secrets and S'mores
“How is she?”
“She’s doing pretty good, all things considered.”
Marigold looks over her shoulder and gives me a supportive smile. “She’s fine, just worried about you. She’s the one who convinced Zephyr to play decoy actually. Turns out, he doesn’t care for Orion or the northern pack.”
“Neither do I,” I said darkly.
Everyone is quiet for a moment. The road splits, and Jasper turns West, away from both his pack and mine.
“What happened after I left? Did he?” Onyx starts to ask, but can’t seem to finish his question.
Looking up at him, I attempt to smile despite the choking feeling in my throat. “After he challenged my mom, he demanded that I become his mate and when I said no, he locked me up until right now.”
I feel like I barely escaped a train crash.
“He’ll never get near you again. And I’m going to make him wish he had never even looked at you,” he promises. It’s the best thing I’ve ever heard and I reward him with a soft kiss.
“So seriously, what’s the plan? Where are we actually going?” I ask, feeling lighter than I have since leaving Onyx in the woods.
Jasper sighs, keeping his gaze on the road. “You guys are going to lay low for a while, and I am going to work with Slate and Hawthorne to put together a plan. Not totally sure yet what that’ll be, but we need you out of the way. No more idiotic schemes to run home and challenge anyone.”
His words sting. It felt like the right thing to do at the time. If I had known the consequences then, I would have made a very different choice.
“We’ll drop you off at a vacation rental nearby. You’ll hang out for a few days and then when everything is safe, you’ll come home,” Marigold says, looking pleased with herself.
“I’ll be staying to give you back up, and keep you out of trouble,” Cedar grumbles.
I reach over and squeeze his hand. “Thank you, Cedar.”
Onyx kisses my forehead, and I fold my arms in until I am cocooned in his embrace. Everything hasfallen apart, but somehow I’m more than alright. Alone, I had no chance of helping my pack and my mother. With Onyx and my friends, maybe there’s a chance.
Onyx
The rental is a brick house at the end of a small neighborhood two towns over. Being ninety minutes away from everything makes me nervous, but it’s worth it for the safety. Granite Ridge will never find her here.
Jasper’s sleek, black vehicle pulls into the driveway and we climb out. Now I have her, all of the stress from the last few days dissolves, leaving me exhausted and a bit sore from wounds still healing. Sable said I had several fractures in addition to a nasty concussion, but shifters heal quickly and she helped it along with her salves and tonics. My bag in the trunk holds several of her concoctions. I wasn’t sure Ember would be okay when we found her.
Jasper inputs the door code and we step into a silent house. I note the security camera at the door. What must the owner think, seeing five young adults arriving together, two of us limping in and clinging to each other like they just survived the apocalypse? At least we left our weapons in the car.
“We can’t stay long, but I’m going to order some groceries and make sure you’re all set for a while. Better to be safe than sorry.” Marigold disappears into the kitchen.
Cedar and Jasper explore the other two bedrooms and hall bathroom. I open the interior door to thegarage through the laundry room, revealing a ping pong table and a set of bicycles. Maybe our stay here won’t be too bad. Frankly, it wouldn’t matter if the house was completely devoid of entertainment. I have Ember back.
She brushes against me, peeking out. “Oh, don’t tell me you love ping pong,” she says, scowling at me playfully.
“It could be fun,” I say, wrapping my arms over her shoulders in a hug. “We could try making it strip ping pong.”
“Or not,” Cedar yells from the hall.
Ember’s nose wrinkles as she laughs silently.
“He’s going to be a total cock-block isn’t he?” I mutter, leaning down to kiss her.
“As much as I can’t wait to test that theory, it’s been a rough few days and I’m not feeling my best,” Ember murmurs, allowing me to support her weight.
My instincts to protect roar to life, and I lift her up, one arm under her knees in a bridal hold.
“That’s overkill. I just need a nap and some real food,” she says against my shirt. But she nuzzles down against my chest and allows me to carry her to the master bedroom. Cedar will be fine in the kids room.
